Life after Mugabe: Zimbabwe readies itself for tourist dollar

Post-Mugabe Zimbabwe is looking up according to economic forecasts, national sentiment and visitor numbers to the country’s numerous leisure destinations.

A positive view of the oft-maligned nation as an investment location as much as a holiday destination is helping to set the groundwork for future market successes.

Poor infrastructure and reports of civil unrest had negatively impacted international

perceptions of Zimbabwe, but the installation of a new regime in Harare has seen interest in the region spike since November.

In an attempt to keep the good times rolling the country has presented a $15m (R185.22m) incentive facility

for the tourism industry, central bank governor John Mangudya said late in January.

Mangudya said that the body’s “strategy to reduce costs” for operators will in turn lead to an enhanced competitiveness within the tourism industry.

As affirmation of this, the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair has wasted no time in 2018 in announcing plans to construct a 300-bed hotel in Bulawayo to supplement its exhibition premises.

Such confidence has been enhanced by a notable reduction to the cost of doing business in Zimbabwe, along with centralised bodies providing investment information to Diaspora more freely and also aiming to reduce red tape.

The government has also, through the Office of the President and Cabinet, spearheaded a raft of reforms under the Rapid Results Initiative to improve the ease of doing business, attract investment and ultimately grow the economy.